Finally, the weather was on our side. And what a day. Our first big House event of the year, with house challenges, width and length house point races, swim trials, the Biggest Splash competition, ice blocks and fun in the sun. Read on to find out what students thought of the event.

School leaders - Our thoughts

What an amazing group of leaders we have for 2023. A part of a successful school event is the involvement of our Student Leaders. On Monday, the heads/deputies/Sport leader/House leader and House captains helped Mr Forman set up at the pool, led the opening and ran the House challenges. Along the way, they cheered on students and recognised student CARE values by handing out House points.

The leaders:

Head Boy / Girl:  Isaac Steffens/Jessie Braithwaite

Deputy Boy / Girl: Cooper Hohipuha, Grace Oh

Sport Leader: Grace Brew

House Coordinator: Elaine Zhang

House Captains: Emily G (Kōwhai), Noah (Miro), Didi (Rata). Emily T (Rimu)

We asked the leaders what they thought of the day. Here is what they said.

Isaac - Head Boy

Swim fun day for me was very awesome because it went smoothly and everyone had a great time except for the bit where I got burnt. I also liked it because I got to open it with the other heads.

Jessie - Head Girl

The year 4-8 swim fun day Te Hapua was an awesome event because everyone got involved in the day. Personally I enjoyed seeing all the houses working together to get as many house points as they could and just seeing everyone giving it their best. Some of my highlights from the day include the house splash off, the pool toy game and the ice block and free time. I know this amazing day couldn't have been possible without the student leaders and definitely not without Mr Forman. 

Cooper - Deputy Head Boy

I think the year 4-8 swim fun day went really well. It looked like everyone was enjoying themselves and trying their personal best. It is very amazing being a student leader, because we got to go down early and help set up. The south-west zones went really well and lots of people participated. IT WAS A REALLY FANTASTIC day.

Grace Oh - Deputy Head Girl

In my opinion the Te Hapua Swim Fun day was a great success. It was great to see that the students were all engaged and participated in the activities provided in a positive manner. I personally had a fabulous time setting up beforehand, helping out with the activities, dressing up and supporting our houses, and opening the Fun day with the other Head students. In summary, I would like to thank Mr Forman, Mr Hillary and all the teachers for supporting us throughout the day and giving us this wonderful opportunity. 

Grace Brew - Sport Leader

I think that the Swim fun day went very well. I loved that everyone was getting involved and being positive! It was great to see everyone giving it their best and having a fantastic time. I had an amazing time running the activities and setting up with the head students, house coordinator and the house captains. It wouldn't have gone smoothly if Mr Forman didn’t do everything he did. So Thank you to Mr Forman for making the day a success.

Elaine - House Coordinator

In my opinion I think that the Year 4-8 Swim fun day was FANTASTIC, loved everyone’s energy and positivity! It was amazing going early in the morning and setting up, planning and running it. (It was amazing getting lost and I learnt never to let Didi to cross the road by himself.) Running the activities was enjoyable since it was a bit nerve wracking standing in front of like 300 kids. Luckily I had the heads, Sport leader and house captain. It was also outrageous seeing everyone trying out for the South-west zone! Big thanks to Mr Forman and Mr Hillary for setting up and organizing the event with us and without you guys we would not have gotten anywhere! This was our first house event which was OUTSTANDING, Thank you everyone for participating!

Emily T

The Te Hapua swim fun day was AWESOME, I loved going down early, helping out, participating in the biggest house splash and cheering on Rimu! It went so well considering this was our FIRST major house event. I really enjoyed watching everyone try their best in the challenges AND the SW Zones swim trials, everyone participated actively as well as positively. It was a great success.

Didi

In my opinion I think the Swim Fun Day went excellent and everyone was in the activities that we came up with. I also had a great time there because I got to run the activities.

The Te Hapua swim fun day was AWESOME, I loved going down early, helping out, participating in the biggest house splash and cheering on Rimu! It went so well considering this was our FIRST major house event. I really enjoyed watching everyone try their best in the challenges AND the SW Zones swim trials, everyone participated actively as well as positively. It was a great success.

Emily G

I think swim fun day was brilliant and was really enjoyable for me and all the others that were able to go. I really loved how much the people were getting involved and were taking time to participate in all the challenges that me and the other house captains/coordinator were able to come up with.The only reason that we were able to do such a fantastic job was because Mr Forman was able to organize meetings and the event so thank you so much Mr Forman.

Noah 

Recently, on Monday March the 6th, Oaklands School had a swim funday at Te Hapua. I personally had an AMAZING time setting up beforehand, planning and running the event, and watching all the kids trying their best and giving it a go. What really amazed me was how many skilled children put their name down for South-West Zones. I would like to thank my fellow House Captains, House Coordinator, Sports Leader and The Head Students. This is because without them the year 4-8 swim funday would have been a total disaster. Last but not least, A BIG thanks to Mr Forman because again without him the whole thing would have been a fluke.

Student Feedback

Student journalists Chelsea McKenzie, Elina Hua and Sneha Fernando interviewed a number of students about the big day. Here is what they had to say.

Blaire Wiringi  - Yr 5

I enjoyed the excitement about getting into the zones. I liked racing and trying hard to get first, second or third for zones. I'm in miro house and we came 2nd for most house points. In my free time I did other people's hair into plaits, ate my ice blocks and my lunch. I am happy with myself because I tried my hardest and I had fun because I love swimming but it was cold and I kinda like it because it was refreshing. My favourite activity was the biggest splash and my favourite race was backstroke.

Axel Cull  - Yr 5

I enjoyed just hanging out with my friends and swimming. What I liked the most was swimming because it was fun and you got to jump into the pool. I like swimming in general. I’m in Miiro house and we came second in the ‘House points’ competition. I am happy in myself because I did things to the best of my ability. My favourite house activity was the Biggest Splash.

Maia Dill-Russell  - Yr 4

The thing I enjoyed the most was the length race and hanging out with my friends. I liked the length race the best. My favourite house challenge was the biggest splash. I'm in Kōwhai and we came first in most house points. I had fun because I got to enjoy hanging out with my friends and doing fun activities. I think I did well because I tried my best and had fun.

Myrah Ganda. - Yr 4

I enjoyed it when we did the length race because I got third place. What I liked the most was when we did the house challenges. My favourite house challenge was the biggest splash. I had fun because I was with my friends. I liked the ice blocks. I'm in Rata house. I think I did pretty well in the house challenges because I worked really hard.

I think we did good because we all tried our hardest .

Emilia Montague-ebbs   Yr 4

The thing I enjoyed was when they put all the stuff into the pool for us to get because we got to collect it out of the pool as fast as we could. The thing I liked the most was the biggest splash. I did the length race. I came third. It was not tiring, it was not cold. I am in Rata house. I did well because I tried my best .

Morgan Tizzard - Yr 4

I enjoyed the swim day because I really like swimming and hanging out with my friends. The activity I liked the most was the biggest splash because it was really fun. I'm in Miro house and we came second in the most amount of house points.

I had fun because I like trips. The walk was a little tiring. I did the race and I came last because it was freezing cold. I did well because I tried my best.

Ellie G - Yr 5

I enjoyed swimming on Monday. It was a lot of fun. I am in Kowhai. My favourite house challenge was the biggest splash challenge. It was very cold once we got out of the pool. I had a lot of energy and enjoyed the ice block the teacher gave to each of us. At free time, my friends and I jumped into the water again and again. I feel good with myself doing the house challenges. It was very entertaining.

Zooey - Yr 5

I liked swimming on Monday. My friends and I had lots of fun. I liked eating my ice block. It was very tasty. My favourite house challenge to do was the biggest Splash challenge.It was very cold when we got out of the water. I was very tired after swimming.

Chloe G - Yr 6

I am in Miro house and I really liked Monday swimming. I had lots of energy and it was really fun. I think I did well in the house challenges. It was quite cold after we got out of the water but overall it was fine. I was a bit tired so I took a little small nap. My friends and I had lots of fun. I do hope that we could get another chance to do this!

Lacey - Yr 4

I had a lot of fun in the length races on Monday, all of my friends did! I am in year 4 this year. It was really cold the day we went swimming though it was nice. My favourite activity to do was to collect the items people threw into the pool for house points! I only had a little bit of energy at the end of the day, I think I did really well in the house challenges. The ice blocks were yummy, I cheered for my house, Miro and all of the other houses. I was really happy.

Rory - Yr 4

I am in Miro house. My favourite activity to do was the biggest splash challenge! It was really fun and really cold. I was a little bit tired at the end of the day but overall it was worth it. I liked the ice block that the teacher gave for each person. It was yum! I liked doing the races. It was really fun and entertaining! I had lots of fun and was really happy. I was happy and nervous at the beginning. My friends and I had lots of fun. I hope that we can do this again!

Harper - Yr 4

I am in Rata. I enjoyed the day. It was fun being with my friends. I liked the iceblock that each student received, The House challenge I enjoyed the most was where we collected all the objects and could dive for the rings. We played games in our free swim; I like swimming. We did ok in the House challenges; I want to do it again.

Erin  - Yr 4

I am in Rata house. I had fun at swimming. I cheered for my house; it was enjoyable. I want to do it again. I liked playing with my friends, playing games, eating food - I liked the iceblock. It was a little cold and at the end I was tired.